Chapter 6: Refashioned Dialogues

Observe: This group used a navy blue background with white text. The dark background made the light text stand out and easy to read. The group used visuals that not only fit in the with the text they choose but that were also engaging. All of the texts and visuals were in the same direction, and the size of the text generally stayed the same. The visuals were both photos and videos.

Infer: Something that the group discussed was how "the web allows individuals not only to represent themselves in words and images, but also to publish these representations to an audience of millions at almost no expense" (119). The web has allowed for almost anyone to become an author, whether it is through social networking sites, like Facebook, or through online articles and encyclopedias, like Wikipedia. People are albe to express themselves differently now because of this digital media; they are able to use pictures and words. But what does this idea of "almost no expense really mean?" Money wise maybe not, for the most part it probably wont cost them anything, but because the digital media allows almost anyone to become an author it seems as if some people post just to post and aren't really thinking about what they are posting which can cost them in a different sense, in a figurative sense.

Question:
1) Is digital media and the idea that almost anyone can publish something changing the way people write?

2) Does the digital media make texts rely heavily on pictures where they might not have needed them before?

3) Should digital media be used to teach students how to read and write?

4) Does digital media and the internet allow for users to create their own paths to follow?

5) Digital texts will sometimes make themselves look like printed text (for example the photo that was used of the New York Times printed and the New York Times digital); are printed texts ever made to look like digital texts?

6) Does the web rely to heavily on images?